Here are the last two pictures. Now you know what my room kindof looks like. Well, I need to go to bed and get some actual sleep tonight. Tomorrow is Friday...woohoo!

Okay, I am having a heck of a time posting pictures. So, it looks like I have to a new entry for each stupid picture, so that's what I am going to try to do until I figure something else out.

Sorry.

Mint Ice Cream is my favorite...

We were able to get into my classroom today. The color that they painted it is nausiating. When they asked me, I picked out blues...blue counter tops, floors, etc. They said, 'oh yeah, that's what I thought you would like!' and then I show up three days ago and it looks like...I don't know...really bright and just gross. BUT, I am refusing to be negative from this point on and I am choosing to be excited instead. So check out the before and afters...there have been a lot of changes and it looks a lot different. I am going to sincerely miss the various flourescent countertop colors but I bet I will get used to the new ones.


The new room is nice with all of the shiny silver appliances. It's amazing that they did this for my program. That makes me feel good...not good enough to stay for years on end, but good! (staying positive as best I can).

Can you fly this plane and land it?
Surely you can't be serious.
I am serious, and don't call me Shirley.

Well, off we go. I thought I would get a good night's sleep tonight but no, of course not. But it should be fun. I will be in my newly remodeled class room with my new, shiny equipment and my kids will all be happy so I BETTER be too!
I am actually going to bed in about five minutes. I just need to go over in my head before I pass out, everything that I have to do for the next three days. This includes the two wedding cakes that I have to do...yikes.

Mike is in all his glory. He loves this. He spent time putting his room together...meanwhile I am sitting in front of the computer putting together a syllabus for the next year. Ugh. I procrastinate soooo much. But we will both have fun in our own ways. I just can't wait until the caterings start. That is when we have the most fun and get the most out of the class.

My neck looks a little tweaked in this picture but it was the only one that we had from the concert.

Okay, wish us luck! We will be sleeping in on Sunday for sure! So don't call before 9:30!

Here are two songs by Ben Harper. He's great and if you don't know what he sounds like, then listen to one or both of these.

Check this one out too. It was soooooo fun.

No, say it ain't so!

Tomorrow is the day, we will be there bright and early and it all begins again. A whole new set of kids with a whole new set of issues...good and bad.

We just got back from the Bay Area. I had so much fun. Ben Harper was AMAZING! He was so good and I just can't even put it into words!
Here we are having a little cocktail before we go in...man I'm short!

Here they are after the cocktails. We were really excited because it was first come first serve as far as seating went so we were going to get some really great seats or concrete slab areas...they don't really have seats there.

We took a video...see if this link works. I am new to this so we shall see. It was a great time and I can't wait to go again! It will be quick and you really need to look close. Hank and I are dancing and you can't really see Anna...but then you can totally see Ben Harper...did you know that he is married to Laura Dern. weird.

Gotta go to bed. So, go listen to By My Side by Ben Harper. It is a great song.

Goodnight and wish us luck for another school year!

Here is a cake that I did on July 15th. This was the Saturday that we all went up to the ranch...and swam in the river and laughed soooo hard. The last weekend that I saw Tim. It was a lot of fun that night and there was much tequila involved along with headlamps. What a bunch of nerds we are sitting around a dark cabin all staring eachother in the eyes with those damn headlamps! Funny.
Nice cake though...except it you look closely, you can see the ribbon getting grease stained from the buttercream...but oh well. They loved the cake!

Nice...


Here we are jammin'. Uhhhh...I don't exactly know what song we were playing but I am almost certain that it sounded good. This was Tim's birthday party.



Here he is later that night...he had a lot of fun that night. I think that we all did but he's the only one that ended up on the floor.

There is now a link to a blog for Tim and Brian off to the side there.
It's tiki torches at twilight...a song by David Lindley who he listened to all of the time.

I still have no words to say. I can't form thoughts. All I have in me is drained out...I feel so sad and lifeless. Ugh. I can't look at pictures, I can't sit and think, I can't focus.

This is the most shitty deal ever.

I can't imagine a time when I won't cry for Tim and when I won't be sad anymore. It seems impossible.

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever."

I miss you...uncontrollably.
I never knew that I could hurt this much.

No, no, don't speak--for some moments in life there are no words.

We made it back. I apologize for not writing while I was away...but you have heard all about it! I could sit here and give you a day by day recap but I don't really think that it would do my trip justice. It was so much deeper than that for me.
When I tell people that I went away and worked, they don't understand. I was completely aware of what I was in store for. LIndsay told me and I knew...that was that. Everyone around was amazed that I was there doing that and quite frankly, it's sad that everyone is so amazed. Could they never imagine helping a friend that asks? That is just what I will do when she says she needs help...fly across the U.S. to do it. And it was hard and a little tiring but who cares I had one of the best times that I have had in a VERY long time. The reason for that is because of the time that I got to spend with LIndsay and Frazier... They are two of my favorite people and I just adore them...I can't really put it into words. Ever since I have met Lindsay, I have felt connected with her and now, I feel lucky to say that about Frazier too. It was a really good thing for me to go and I feel better about my life knowing that I have them as friends. It was really hard for me to say good bye and thinking about being there and thinking about them makes me weepy, I can't explain. I just hope that you all get to meet them soon.

When we got back to town I had three days to throw together a 5 tiered wedding cake. I have learned my lesson again about letting them handle the flowers. I say, "make sure that they are small please, otherwise they look really strange on the cake...". and they say, "oh yeah, no problem..." Um, yeah...problem. I show up and the roses are large and have bloomed. They had rose buds too but they were giant rose buds, it was weird, they were like abnormally large. So, I just took the roses and jammed them into the base layer of the cake and then just did the best I could with what I had and then peeled out in the driveway. At least I heard that the bride was happy and that everyone was raving about the cake...so, I feel okay about it but not as good as I could have felt if everything would have gone perfectly...
Oh well, live and learn. I feel no guilt in cashing this check!
So, that's all I have for now. I am now just back home and back at it. I feel ready to do more...I feel awakened and ready for harder challenges whatever they may be. But I am now, once again, on my path to have my own business and I am kind of tired of waiting for...well, what exactly am I waiting for??
Tonight for dinner, we are having 'Red Pepper and Corn Soup with Basil'. Sounds good to me.
Later ya'll.

I am in fricken bootcamp.

Okay, I go up this morning at 8:30 their time, had breakfast, we chatted, and then went right to the sugar shack to work. She (Lindsay) has about a 1/2 acre of plowed field that we were working in today. I am officially a redneck (no comments ASS). They also have these flies here that bite and actually draw blood. You would love em Bob. We were working in the fields, swatting flies, and getting burnt all day...I put sunscreen on but forgot to get the back of my arms and that space above your pants where your shirt lifts up...yep, I have a nice little strip.
I am having a blast though. Everyone should do a vacation like this. These girls are great and will be great for me. They don't eat wheat, they have 3 sensible meals a day, they follow a routine, it's great. I feel like when I am done with the next couple of days, I will have had a REALLY good workout.
I totally understand now the vision. You see, where we are is totally rural. There aren't really grocery stores around. There are tons of boutique stores, bed and breakfasts, 'Inns', si resorts and fruit stands. So, Lindsay is opening a gourmet fruit stand. It makes total sense in this area. We are going on a hunt for good maple candy tomorrow along with a lot more planting of herbs. Today we made super long mounds for squashes and then planted sunflowers, cantaloupe, watermelon, fava beans, green beans, snap peas, corn, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, acorn squash and pumpkins...oh yeah, clover and wildflowers too but that was easy. She had this cart thingy that spins out the seeds as you walk with it. It was hard work but TOTALLY rewarding. We got so much done.
I will let you know tomorrow how I feel, I have a feeling my back is going to hurt and these bites are going to itch.
We had a yummy salad with grilled chicken breasts. I feel totally satisfied. What feels really great is just being able to collaborate and brainstorm about food. I love that and once we get going, we get excited...okay, I will keep you informed as far as the progress goes. Hopefully I will get some pictures soon, we just need Frazier to get the program up on the computer and then we can.
Talk to you all soon!

'an artist is never poor.'


wow. so true.

2nd day of summer break and I have to be to work at 8:30 to do who knows what for who knows how much. I remember last summer...making like $8.00 an hour there. wow. thanks.
I don't even ask anymore because then it would get weird and I certainly don't work there because I need to...ya know...so, I just do it and have fun and then come home and feel really good about food, in a way I don't feel for about 10 months out of the year. I can't really explain it in any other way.

Tonight we had sean and ar and aidan over for the first time since spring break! Damn, what a long time to go without even talking. we just get so into routine it's scary. It was fun though, nothing has changed The house was just as messy too. I had been working all day to do these damn sample cakes that I offer. I would love to be able to put a picture up but I have no way to download them right now.

I am in Vermont. I have been traveling all day and I am pretty tired. It is only 9. The flights were crazy. I have not traveled by myself since I went to France and well, for those of you that know me, I don't like to fly much. So, the first flight started off awesome. We watched an incredibly stupid movie called 'failure to launch', dumb but watchable...then, it started getting bumpy and the seatbelt sign came on. The captian came on and said, "stewardesses, please take your seats immediately." So, of course I get freaked out. But we land fine after I am sweating and white knuckling it in the whole way. I swear, we landed on just one wheel too because the plane was totally tilted. I found myself leaning to the right like that would actually make a difference...funny.
Once inside Chicago's airport, I found that my gate was like 6 gates away. So, I didn't get to go into the tunnel of neon which would have been cool. Oh well.
When I was waiting for the plane, I was sitting across from this adorable couple that was so sweet. They were ofcourse younger than me (everyone is younger than me these days) and were just so into each other...well, when boarding the plane, I walked past them and he handed her a box. She opened it and it was a little wooden box with blue sand, a sea shell and a giant diamond ring. She said in her broken English, "are you serious?" It was so sweet! I was beaming and I didn't even know them...I was also waiting to hear her answer but there were anxious peeps behind me. It was very cute though and then the captian came on and congratulated them...so she must have said yes.
THEN, like 20 min into the flight, the captian did the same thing..."please take your seats immediately, it is going to be bumpy for atleast the next 10 min." Well, it was. SOOOO bumpy. Where it would do those drops and leave your stomach in your throat...yeah, those. I thought I was bad, there was a woman in front of me crying. Seriously.
I landed, they were late and I didn't care, I was just happy to be on the ground.
On the way home, we stopped at a Red Robin for dinner. Holy Moly, it was totally a chain hamburger kinda place but it was so good. I had chicken just so ya know. Then two hours later we got here and went to bed. They were very tired and so was I.
Okay, since I can't put any pics up, I am signing off for now. I will write more when I can. Miss all of you!

Don't forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he always wanted.

What happened?

He lived happily ever after.



I am a woman of simple pleasures. Right now, I am happy listening to Amos Lee, sitting in OUR house, watching our cats live a very comfortable life, knowing that I have a good job to drive to tomorrow...all of this after having a lovely dinner with my beautiful family.
Why do I have so many questions? I absolutely cannot wait to be in Vermont in 12 days...seriously. What I think about while my head is in the clouds is "wow, what if I just love it, being there with Lindsay and Frazier and then Mike shows up and looks around and says, 'this is totally do-able' and we decide to come back!" Yeah, I know, but NO ONE has EVER accused me of being grounded and logical. What if???!!! Really. What if it was THAT COOL? Wouldn't that just be amazing? Who can argue with that?
You know what else? I think that this was my hardest year of teaching yet. I know, it was only my third year and it is only going to get harder. BUT, the longer I stay, the more intwined I get with my students. You see, it was my hardest year and yet it was my best. I have met some people that I feel lucky to know. Honestly. I think in my HROP class, I have the most awesome opportunity. I have met some people that have experienced some things in their life that I never have and who have taught me a lot. In that class there is every little aspect of person...does that make sense? I have the jock/religeous kid, the goth girl with the cheating boyfriend, the independant girl living on her own in a trailor...struggling to hang on, there is the adopted girl that has had a seriously hard life...I mean serious..., the girl who's mom was/is a drug addict and now lives with friends of the family, the boy who has a loving family and yet hates them, NW who has a great family life and a good boyfriend and will probably be married at the age of 19 and last but not least, the girl with many siblings that she has to take care of way too often and just can't wait to get as far away from Humboldt as she can! I mean, just hanging out with them is eyeopening. On Friday, I was with one student that helped me with a catering job. I started asking her about her dad...it went a little something like, "so, where's your dad now?" "I don't know, last I heard, Bridgeville"...apparently, this guy has been in and out of jail for all sorts of things and now ignores the fact that he has two daughters. The funny or sad thing is that I could totally relate. My dad knows where to find me. He doesn't though. Why? That is the question we both were asking on Friday...together, this 15 year old and me were asking the same questions...how can a parent have a kid and then just act like they don't exist? Why bother if you can't deal? UGH.
So, I think I have a lot to deal with this summer and yet, I know that at least I do have family that is close and here and willing to be all there is and yet...I still miss him...terribly...sorry. Even though I am 31 and Francisco is...well...however old he is...I KNOW we both get bugged and bothered at the mention of dad's name. Because...no, not everything is "cool" and "alright" and no, we won't always be 'buds' and damn...just call, okay? Look at what you are missing. Okay, so maybe we are a bunch of dorks but still, you can't tell me he has anyone in his life that replaces this...right?
Last weekend, we had fun with HandA! We went to The Pearl Lounge...it was right before the election and it was Arts Alive so it was busy. We ran into MandC and proceeded to have a lovely evening.

Man, have I mentioned how great Damien Rice is? The song "Volcano"? Great song.

How come no one leaves me wonderful, thoughtful comments on my blog?

Mickey's a mouse, Donald's a duck, Pluto's a dog. What's Goofy?

Goofy's a dog. He's definitely a dog.

He can't be a dog. He wears a hat and drives a car.

God, that's weird. What the Hell is Goofy?




On our way home from making food for 200 people, we wanted to take note of how well we were able to maintain our good moods and sense of humor. The only bummer is that the guy taking the picture only got the top of his head, you can see it there at the bottom...and Triscuit only showed us his sleeve...maroon at that...that dang goth...:)

They are a funny bunch of happy kids...

A flute with no holes is not a flute. And, a doughnut with no hole is a Danish.

Okay, everyone, I need your opinion...should I leave it long or cut it off again? I can't decide.

It is Wednesday evening. There are only 11 days left for me to actually have to be on campus. That is great news.
Today I had a doctor's appt and I had the best secretary ever book me a sub for the whole morning. Originally, they told me that the appt would take that long and it was at 9. Well, I went there, went into the lab room when they called my name, the lab guy (looked like he was 18) drew a vile o' blood and said, "okay, that's it! Have a good day!" It was like 9:07. It was great, I went and hung out at Los Bagels, went to Borders, went and bought Chatty a pair of blue pants...yep, blue...and I bought some stuff too. You ever been to the mall at 10 a.m. on a weekday? I was pretty much the only one there...well, me and those people that go there for exercise, you know, they do laps around the mall early in the morning? Funny.
Then I went back to school a little before lunch and actually got some nagging paperwork done. It was a good day.
We have one official catering left but they don't need to work at that one...but they need to make like 400 mini tarts for it...ahhhh, no biggie.

I just got back from my cycle camp. It was good. The crazy Cajun who leads the class makes us do a lot of exercises with our own body weight...which I have plenty of! But you see, I am soooo sore. Sunday we went on a ride which I thought was okay. I did just 'ok'. I am not pleased with my progress. I certainly do not expect to keep up with the guys but I want to go on a ride where they aren't just 'cruisin' and I am still struggling to keep them in my sights. But, my back got sore from the ride, not so sure why. Then on Monday, I gardened a lot and my back was even tighter, then on Tuesday I ran on the treadmill. I haven't done that in like two months so my legs are superduper sore because jogging uses way different muscles than riding...and then today, The Cajun had us doing all of these lunges and other weird exercises that I don't know the name of and man, to make a long story short, I am worked over. BUT, tomorrow, ASS is going to join me and Chatty in spin class so that should be fun.

This weekend was pretty fun. It was mom's bday party. We had ourselves a little fiesta in the rain, and I think mommasan had a fun time. I know I sure did...except my flan didn't turn out. It was quite strange. Oh well.

So, I know I talk about my students a lot and it is because I adore them. I always get the outcasts of society for some reason. They have a hard time in the 'popular' realm and I think that it's just because no one their age really knows how to talk or say things that mean something...for example...today, my fav student, the religious boy, and I were working side by side. He was very quiet. He's a thinker. I kept grabbing the tart shells that he was making and repairing them here and there and I asked, "am I annoying you yet?" and he says, "no, of course not, you're keeping me company." and I said, "but we're not even talking," and he says, "don't you realize that your presence alone can make a huge impact on someone?" (he makes me smile to myself a lot.) ...he is something else I tell ya'. Maybe that doesn't sound like much to ya'll but when you hang out with teenagers all day and all you hear is them talking about getting shit faced and partying and how stupid school is and so on and then you hear something like that, you pause, or at least I do. I am reminded of the fact that I get the best students in the whole school. Period. I am lucky that I get to meet such cool kids that are not given the time of day by most...man, everyone else is missing out!
Okay, on that note, good night. I will put some pics up tomorrow from our last catering job (that went VERY well, thank you very much). We got some funny shots, and I have some funny photos from the fiesta...
Later taters!!!